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Right idea. Wrong wine? The other day, in a regular blind tasting, I sampled a new Pinot Noir, vintage 2005. Nothing outstanding. Fresh, snappy cherry and strawberry fruit, which I rated in the good category (defined as 80-84 points on Wine Spectator 's 100-point scale).

I'm back at home after a couple of weeks on the road. I was happy my two dogs, Archie and Annie, still remembered me. The cat, Monty, was meowing at my door at 6 a.m. for food. I guess my local restaurant wasn’t throwing him tidbits.

I know you're all bored of me talking about the Rhône all the time. So here's an update on the other French wine region I cover - the Loire. I thought you might be interested to read a few of the comments that I've received from vignerons over the last few days as they get ready for the 2006 harvest.

In California, vintners are on the final approach to harvest, for what has been a very mixed and trying year. As my winegrower friend C.J. predicted in April , it has been an expensive year to farm, with an abundance of spring rain and a late, uneven grape set.

Duncan McGillivray made a success of Two Dogs, an Australian brand of alcoholic lemonade, and a chain of brewpubs in Australia. When he sold it all to Pernod-Ricard in 1995, he finally had enough money to do what he always wanted: plant a vineyard and make wine.

Went to a Jewish wedding in Brussels over the weekend. I felt like an actor in Wedding Crashers ! From the moment the bride and groom arrived at the reception from the synagogue, it was a non-stop party.

Tel Aviv never sleeps. I left a subterranean club called Breakfast at 4 this morning, and it was just getting started. When I reached outside, the streets in town were gridlocked with people and automobiles.

The first time I used the expression “wine geek” to describe a persnickety wine scribe at a winery-hosted luncheon, in 1983, my colleagues laughed. The words just came out of my mouth (and fit this guy’s personality perfectly).

Flew into Tel Aviv for a few days with some friends yesterday on a whim. Everything was quiet, except for the occasional military helicopter speeding by overhead. It is my first time to Israel, and it is a trip I have wanted to make for a very long time.

Prices for a few elite California wines are heating up--although given the small size of these wineries, the rise is more like an outdoor patio heating lamp than a roaring bonfire on campus before a big football game.

Time was, Rosemount and Lindemans were near-iconic names. Their wines introduced a great many Americans to how good Australia can be. They offered modestly priced wines that sang a lilting tune of fresh fruit, with a smooch of sweet oak.

Labor Day is approaching, which means the summer is ending (sad), but the kids are going back the school (whew!). It won't be long before the grill is covered up for winter and the vegetable garden is a pile of mulch.

I drank a bottle last night in Mykonos of what is supposed to be one of Greece’s greatest wines, the 2003 Alpha Estate Alpha One. The wine was good but slightly too jammy and disjointed to be very serious in quality.

Sometimes I get really tired of reading wine bottle back labels. Some can be on the level of information provided on breakfast cereal boxes or soft-drink bottles. Here’s one I noticed after a friend brought a bottle of Australian Pinot Noir to dinner in Mykonos.

The other day, I tried the new Chasseur Pinot Noirs --which are among the most exciting 2004 Pinots I’ve tasted from California--and the blind tasting reminded me how different these wines are in style from the Sonoma winery's Chardonnays.

With his win this past weekend, Tiger Woods continued his amazing run - four straight. He did it in the pouring rain, too. (On a side note, I advanced out of the qualifying round in my club championship, playing in the pouring rain on Sunday as well).

Oregon's potential for Pinot Noir has long attracted winemakers from elsewhere. The earliest guys, including David Lett, Dick Erath and Dick Ponzi, came from California in the 1970s. Robert Drouhin from Burgundy made his first vintage at Domaine Drouhin Oregon in 1988.

I attended a playful dinner last night at a friend’s house in Mykonos. My buddy is a big-time wine collector, and he has been nice enough to share many great bottles with me – although last night was not the case! We spend a lot of time together tasting (and drinking) good bottles and traveling around France and Italy.

I’ve never wanted to be a restaurant critic. Having to eat, think, take notes and dine out night after night, or lunch after lunch, has never had any appeal. Too many rich, buttery, artery-clogging, pound-inducing, uber calories and late nights for me.